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+# A short statement about professional software engineering
+
+I have a bunch of drafts on this topic since I see it pop up in gemini space every now and then and some common misinformation I see tossed around. So I wanted to address some if it.
+
+## Should learning programming be mandatory?
+
+No. I feel people (even myself) equate programming to computer literacy. In fact computer literacy isn't even "needed" to program. My girlfriend got a CS Degree yet when it comes to practical computer operations shes no different than a normal millenial when it comes to understanding things like file management, network management, internet safety etc.
+
+But I think everyone should have the opportunity to learn it, and do a small segment on it in younger schooling. Show kids how you can tell a computer to do things. BASIC in the 80s showed so many kids that you can make a computer do your bidding. Now there is a bit more overhead to what a computer is. But breaking it down for a child to express their creativity and grasp the idea that computer programming isn't this mountain of pre-knowledge to overcome and reserved for 'only the smart kids'. Taking a wood working, electronics, cooking, music, or arts class helps introduce kids to useful skills, different ways of thinking, but also helps them find their passions. So throwing computer programming into that, a lot like shop class, can help give kids the chance to see if it is the right area for them.
+
+## A Computer Science Degree is pointless because the space moves to fast
+
+This bugs me the MOST. This is fundamentally untrue. Most of what a CS degree is is theory and fundamentals. That has barely changed and is rooted in math that is centuries old (discrete math, graphs, combinatorics). But even the fundamentals of most languages are static: boolean logic, variables, data structures - those don't change even language to language. Java in recent years has gone through a lot of restructuring in how the language is developed and introduced so many new things. But its still the same Java you wrote in the 90s, and the same Java I learned in university. 
+
+One of the most important classes in my degree was my "programming languages" course that taught us different language types: functional, imperative, logic. Seeing there are other ways to think about programming beyond C-like. This not only opens your mind, but also shows that even in a language that is wildly different than what you studied up to this point, they're all rooted in familiar concepts. This helped me be a good polygot programmer. I still dream in Java, but because last week they introduced var doesn't mean my degree was a waste.
+
+
+### Why am I making a big deal of this?
+
+I was told this lie when I expressed interest into studying CS. And I still hear it perpetuated today. So either this was true in the 90s when we were changing architectures and things were less standardized. But the lie needs to stop. I wasted two semesters in a degree I didn't really want, hating school. Had I started in CS I could've realized my passion sooner. And we're telling kids "you should program professionally so you have a good stable job" but also "you shouldn't bother learning because its going to change tomorrow".
+
+But I personally feel getting my degree helped me become resistant to change. Because I learned what programming WAS beyond the syntax of the language I was using.
+
+## But is a degree necessary for this?
+
+Of course not. No degree is ever necessary. It's simply a piece of paper saying you attended classes at met the minimum requirements for passing. That doesn't mean you learned it. But you can't avoid education. You should learn what the school would teach. Being a software engineer is far more than the syntax of the language. So learning those fundamentals and the theory is very useful to becoming a great software engineer, and will separate you from the pack.
+
+Degrees are in fact becoming less common, and less of a gatekeeper to apply to jobs. But the reason it is unnecessary is not because what you learn is pointless in a year, but because as we move higher up the tech stack the easier it is to grasp without the resources only a university can provide. Free available programming language SDKs, vast knowledge on the internet, a super computer in your pocket.
+
+## Gatekeepers
+
+Computer Science / Software engineering / life is full of gatekeepers. If you make a computer perform an action on your behalf your technically programming it. Anyone and everyone can learn how to manipulate computers. It just takes patience and dedication. It's a lot like baking. With enough time you can get it right, but its a skill that needs to be developed if you want to go beyond recipes.
+
+## Imposter Syndrome
+
+I personally, haven't really dealt with this, but have had friends who struggle with it. Its good to talk this out if you  
diff --git a/gemlog-staging/cs.gmi b/gemlog-staging/cs.gmi
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+# Do I need a CS Degree?
+
+A question I see asked around the internet is "I wish I studied Computer Science (CS)" or "Should I switch majors?" or even "I am still in high school, should I study CS?". These are three different questions to be honest but I think the overall sentiment is still the same.
+
+## Who am I to give my opinion?
+
+So a bit about me. I have a Bachelors in CS from a state university here in the US. Nothing flashy, but I feel I got a good education. I then worked since then as a software engineer and am now a senior engineer at my company eight years later.
+
+## The long and short of it
+
+There are two main summaries I can give: 
+If university isn't free, and you've already been to university - self learn. Here in the US Universities are expensive and if the end goal is software engineering - spend your time teaching yourself. Look up the curriculums, ask engineers you know / online communities.
+
+If you're still young - learn to program before you enroll. Loving computers doesn't equal loving to program. Maybe computer engineering, or an IT like major is more beneficial for you. 
+
+## What is a CS Degree
+
+This varies by department. And I think this is the most important thing to stress. A CS degree is actually something different in almost every school (here in the US). From my coworkers, and girlfriend, discussing what they learned in their CS degree is vastly different. The overall material is generally the same, but how its presented, and what beyond the core CS curriculum.
+
+### Theory
+
+Unless you're in some specific engineer track you're going to learn some theory. 
diff --git a/gemlog-staging/programming.gmi b/gemlog-staging/programming.gmi
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+# My Thoughts About Programming Professionally
+
+Often I get asked:
+* should I get a Computer Science (CS) degree?
+* should I learn to program?
+* should I become a professional programmer?
+and things along these lines. All boiling down to two main ares: should I learn to program? and should I make a career out of it?
+
+And sometimes I feel like I hear around the internet what I personally feel is misinformation.
+
+## My quick answers
+
+> Should I learn to program?
+
+Absolutely. Gaining deeper understanding of a computer is valuable to computer literacy and in a world where everything is digital, having the ability to manipulate data on a machine can be extremely useful.
+
+> Should I make a career out of it?
+
+This may be naive of me, but it is: "That depends" and I'll spend my post here boiling into it. But my gist is simply: "if you can see yourself doing this every day all day, then yes, otherwise no. But I feel like that is the answer for any career (and it should be!).
+
+But lets go into the details
+
+## Should everyone learn to program?
+
+No. 
+
+## Should everyone get a chance to learn to program?
+
+Yes.
+
+## Should children be introduced to programming?
+
+Yes. I'll repeat myself a lot this post, but learning you can teach a computer to do things for you will show kids that a computer is a super powerful asset that isn't some scary black box. But this should be hands on and interactive. A lot like getting kids a chance to play a musical instrument. But demystifying the computer is the important underlying goal. 
+
+I played around with these puzzle piece style programming tools that MIT made for kids, and we were forced to try and build complex apps from it. It was amazingly powerful but intuitive and simple. 
+
+### My personal experience here
+
+I personally was not formally introduced to programming but I was always shown how powerful a computer was. Using DOS/Windows 3 as a child. Accessing programs from the command line. Using .bat files in windows to automate things. But a computer was always demystified because it always felt in my control.
+
+One thing I always tried doing was making games. I love making games, but I had no idea where or how to start with TRUE programming.Which is why I feel having the option in higher schooling (like US high/middle) can let kids who have the passion or intention to learn the ability to learn.
+
+## Should I study computer science (CS)?
+
+There are two main reasons to get a CS degree: to do computing research/ to program professionally. If you WANT, and I mean YOU - not from pressure from your parents or friends or society then yes do it, as long as you have the means to obtain the degree.
+
+For the rest of this we'll focus on the people whose goal is to do some level of software engineering - since its pointless to talk about the research focused careers where its way more necessary.
+
+### Isn't it unnecessary?
+
+All schooling is unnecessary if you have the means, time, and skill to teach yourself. If you want to teach yourself everything and build your own network - go ahead, why are you reading this?
+
+### What is in a CS Degree?
+
+Every school is different, do your research, view their program outline, talk to people who are at that school if you can, or ask on the internet. My girlfriend got her degree from a much higher cost and better reputation school, but it was a way worse education than what I received at my state university. 
+
+You'll want to make sure it covers three main areas: theory and fundamentals, modern software engineering (databases
+
+
diff --git a/gemlog-staging/re-scrawl.gmi b/gemlog-staging/re-scrawl.gmi
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+# re: Service lives of old computers vs. how much electricity it takes to run them
+
+=> gemini://gemini.circumlunar.space/~adiabatic/scrawlspace/ adiabatic scrawl for 2021-05-07
+
+Now my computer isn't nesrly as old as suggested in this post. I have a 10 year old computer powering my home server. It is a i2500k with 16GB of DDR3 and a brand new EVGA power supply. This machine is more than just my gemini capsule though. It is my NAS, Webserver, Filesync host, discord bot host, and Minecraft server.
+
+It does all of this fsirly well too leaving plenty of computing power around. But this post has gotten me curious. How much power does each machine draw. I often leave my desktop PC powered on as well, andI wonder of the two, which is using more watts and really how much servers like rhese draw.
+
+I plan on adding a second PC to the house for my girlfriend. She has a Macbook pro but it is not up to the task of doing the video editing she does. So if I was building an rig for her how much extra $$ is my power bill going to rise.
+
+I think though this scrawl made me rethink grabbing another rPi (currently my 3B is a pihole) and 
diff --git a/gemlog-staging/releases-2021-part-1.gmi b/gemlog-staging/releases-2021-part-1.gmi
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+# Releases 2021 - Part 1
+
+Earlier this year I wrote my top albums of 2020. This year I've been keeping a list of new releases from artists I follow in a playlist (below). Considering the size of this playlist I decided to do a mid year write-up to be paired with an end of the year write up considering all of the albums from the year.
+
+## The Albums
+
+Below is a list of all of the albums I've cataloged so far (Artist - Album)
+
+* 1782 - From the Graveyard
+* Adam Neely, Ben Levin (& Various Artists) - Beautiful and Tragic
+* Adam Neely, Ben Levin (& Various Artists) - How I loved My Cat
+* Cult Of Luna - The Raging River (EP)
+* Dopelord - Reality Dagger (EP)
+* Empyrium - Über den Sternen
+* God Is An Astronaut - Ghost Tapes #10
+* Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
+* Jay Hosking - The Future, Tense (not on Spotify)
+* KANGA - You and I Will Never Die
+* Long Distance Calling - Ghost
+* Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments
+* Raised By Swans - raised by swans is the name of a man, volume 1
+* Ricky Tinez - Celebrate Life
+* Stormruler - Under The Burning Eclipse
+* The Devil Wears Prada - ZII (EP)
+* The Juliana Theory - A Dream Away
+* Tomahawk - Tonic Immobility
+* Tonebox - Last Encryption
+
+### Links
+=> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0652zzMwlTKu0nYvFhx9aP?si=9c86db3858a84143 Releases 2021 (Spotify)
+=> https://jayhosking.bandcamp.com/album/the-future-tense The Future, Tense - Jay Hosking (Bandcamp)
+
+## The process
+
+I have loved capturing and seeking out new releases from the artists I like. It's been very exciting to see singles release and anticipate the album release date. Plus it helps keep my rotation much fresher. I know this isn't comprehensive and I've excluded albums that I have come across - these are the ones that left some impression on me.
+
+## Thoughts on each
+
+I will try to speak to each of these and why I included them in the list. The retrospective at the end of the year will go more into depth on my top five. So here I simply want to give some insights for you, reader, to see what you may want to seek out after.
+
+### 1782 - From the Graveyard
+
+A solid entry into the doom/stoner catalog. Heavy, slow and mean. It has a lot of fun riffs and is just as Doom as you can get. 
+Standout tracks: 
+* Bloodline
+* Black Void
+* In Requiem
+
+### Adam Neely, Ben Levin (& Various Artists)
+
+These two albums were created during the lockdown as a charity event on twitch. They were made in 24hrs and live streamed to raise money. They're both similar in their creation and tone. They're wild. I recommend them if you're into genre bending and weirdness. If you're familiar with Ben Levin it definitely has his unique charm. I included these recently as "How I loved My Cat" released very recently. I watched both streams (partially) but haven't been on the play list long enough for me to have any real tracks to mention.
+
+### Cult Of Luna - The Raging River (EP)
+
+Cult Of Luna is a very aggressive metal band that I have a hard time pinning their genre. Proggy, Atmospheric, Sludgy are some terms that come to mind and are backed up by their Encyclopaedia Metallum profile. I was a fan of their 2019 A Dawn to Fear release and this feels very similar to that. This is cataloged as an EP (but not on Spotify?) and certainly feels that way. It's about 40minutes of aggressive vocals and beautiful guitar playing. It's 5 songs clocking in a bit over 38 minutes so I'll give a single track shoutout.
+Standout Track:
+* Three Bridges
+
+### Dopelord - Reality Dagger (EP)
+
+Another metal EP and from a familiar face. Dopelord made my top 5 last year with Sign of the Devil. This EP is nothing new but very enjoyable. A short EP: 3 songs, 21.5 minutes. Each track is different enough that it doesn't feel stale and is just some good stoner doom. While it may not make the top 5 by the end of the year, it's been in my rotation. Honestly, each track is worth a listen with picking a favorite being diffcult. Dark Coils is the most "Dopelord" of the three. Your Blood is groovy. And Reality Dagger is a slow, harsh track. So check it out. A recommend from me.
+
+### Empyrium - Über den Sternen
+
+This album is hard to describe. Empyrium have been around for decades and this release is operatic, folky, and doomy. Out of the current list this is in my top five for sure. Its beautiful and aggressive. A must listen if you've never heard them before. It's one of those albums where once you start it it's hard to stop, which isn't making this write up any easier - at 8 tracks and 52 minutes!
+Standout Tracks:
+* A Lucid Tower Beckons on the HIlls Afar
+* The Wild Swans
+* Über den Sternen
+
+### God Is An Astronaut - Ghost Tapes #10
+
+There are quite a few post-rock releases on this list right now - which is great! This album is high energy with some excellent guitar work. I don't know what else to say its just great post-rock.
+Standout tracks:
+* Burial
+* Spectres
+* Barren Trees
+
+### Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
+
+Another post-rock release from a true titan in the post-rock world. GY!BE has been more active than I give them credit for. I was a huge fan of their early work listening in high school and college, but they've been active 
+
+### Jay Hosking - The Future, Tense (not on Spotify)
+
+Jay is a YouTube musician that I am a big fan of. He makes semi-improvised songs using hardware synths, occasionally featuring guitar, live drums, and sometimes vocals. He's released two EPs from the songs he made in these videos, this being the latest. This one is especially cool because it features the drummer from Failure, Kellii Scott. This is on Bandcamp only for the time being(?) so that isn't on the playlist itself. The songs are usually electronic genres that I am not well versed in to identify but he's released a few post rock songs that are stellar. If you're at all into hardware synthesis check out the youtube links at the bottom of the bandcamp page
+Standout tracks:
+* Lustral
+* Equivocal
+* Unequivocal
+
+### KANGA - You and I Will Never Die
+
+Finally, a new release from KANGA. Her self titled debut is still one of my favorite albums, and her live show was a blast. Eternal Daughter wasn't my favorite release, and felt a bit softer than her debut. This album brings back that edge. This album is gunning for the top spot of the year. Probably my second most anticipated release behind Raised by Swans. I can't wait to see her live again once things open back up here.
+This album is a dark pop album with crunchy bass, smooth vocals, and hypnotic rhythms. Another one that is hard to stop once it starts. Each song is unique enough while being cohesive as an album. And I really like how Preface and Untie start and end the album, based around the same lyrics and rhythms, providing a feeling of completeness.
+Standout tracks:
+* Home
+* Godless
+* Saying Goodbye
+
+### Long Distance Calling - Ghost
+### Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments
+
+
+### Raised By Swans - raised by swans is the name of a man, volume 1
+
+As the album title states: Raised by Swans is the name of a man, Eric Howden, who has been making music under the moniker Raised by Swans for over 15 years. His debut album Codes and Secret Longing is one of my all time favorites. This album is haunting. He has this ability to create these soft and moving tracks that just resonate with me. He makes great use of electronic sound scapes and electronic guitar rhythms to create this wide sonic platform for his lyrics and soft voice. This album continues to get sadder as it progress, the music becomes more open, less dense, lower tempo. This change occurs after track 6, a silent track with a dedication in the liner notes.
+Standout tracks:
+* fortress without doors
+* helpless insect
+* the lonely hunter
+
+### Ricky Tinez - Celebrate Life (EP)
+
+I really need to get educated on electronic genres. If I recall from him talking about this, it's a house album but don't take my word for it. It's a pretty chill EP. Ricky makes YouTube videos about hardware synths too and always includes a jam on the setup he is talking about. Unlike Jay, his videos are mostly about the making of the music, rather than just performance. As it's a short EP if you like chill electronic music check it out.
+
+### Stormruler - Under The Burning Eclipse
+
+This fast paced black metal new release is winning for dope album art. But also has transition tracks tying the songs together which is something I always liked - having a coherent and cohesive album. (ironic? since this is vocalized by unintelligible black metal screams). Overall, I am not one to listen to a lot of black metal, so this may be unremarkable in the breadth of the genre but I have enjoyed it so far.
+Standout tracks:
+* Reign of the Winged Duke
+* Of Hallow Souls & Distant Flame
+
+### The Devil Wears Prada - ZII (EP)
+
+This was a pleasant surprise. I wrote about TDWP in my Awesome EPs post with their EP Zombie and then they release another dope EP. This has that 2010s era metalcore vibe. If I found out that this was recorded back in 2010 and they just never released it I would believe it (though the production quality is a lot better). It's a short 20minute 5 track EP that I really enjoyed.
+
+### The Juliana Theory - A Dream Away
+
+This was a surprise release. In 2020 they released a single, and in early 2021 released singles from this album. It is comprised mostly of acoustic reimaginings of hits from their early 2000s album: Emotion is Dead. For those who may not know this band - they're an emo band (if the album title "Emotion is Dead" didn't give that away) that came out of the late 90s rise of emo right before the mainstream boom in the early 2000s. The reimagined songs are really neat. The new stuff is pretty generic "pop rock" that I honestly don't care much for. This is really just a plug for Emotion is Dead - since that album is a great emo album, especially if you'd never heard it. Plus the album art is just SO 2000 that it hurts.
+
+### Tomahawk - Tonic Immobility
+### Tonebox - Last Encryption
+
+